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List Price: $19.98 | | Label: Interscope Records
Salesrank: 15409
Released: November 30, 1999 |
| Our Price: $7.96 |
| Used Price: $4.93 |
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| Media: Audio CD |
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Editorial Review:
Guns N' Roses' career could be neatly summed up in a lyric from their song "Pretty Tied Up": "I just found a million dollars that someone else forgot." Indeed, GNR satisfied a grassroots public hunger for bigger-than-life hard rock at a time when legions of alternative bands were enjoying their first burst of overweening critical attention and commercial cachet. The last and most spectacularly successful band to prosper from Hollywood's burgeoning 1980s Sunset Strip glam-metal scene wrapped a couple decade's worth of sometimes tired clichés around a tight, assaultive musical attack that enticed millions yearning for poor role models. And if their edgy songs often blurred fantasy and reality, the best of them had a street-level honesty that couldn't be denied. A de facto greatest-hits collection culled from performances recorded around the world, Live Era best documents the early, ferocious performing prime of GNR's original quintet on its first disc, leaning heavily on their landmark Appetite for Destruction album to great effect. But the second volume often chronicles the band's steady decline into bloated self-parody and neo-Vegas "professionalism." This band needs a horn section like Slash needs another drink! --Jerry McCulley
Live: Era '87-'93 Reviews:
Live: Era '87-'93 
2008-09-04 - Guns N' Roses-Live:Era '87-'93 *****
Depending on where you find it Live:Era can run you a pretty penny. Well it is worth the price of admission. As the title suggest it takes performances from all around the globe from 1987 through 1993 when the band was on their Lose Your Illusions tour.
Slash, Izzy, and on a few tracks Gilby Clark play some killer guitar. Extended solos in some places and some all around impressive work always. Duff holds is own with Steven Adler and sometimes Matt Sorum. Axl's voice sounds pretty good through out and his interaction with the crowds is wonderful.
'Welcome To The Jungle' is done fantastic. The intro is classic. 'Dust N' Bones' kicks; Izzy dominates here. The fact that they didn't leave of tracks from Lies is great as it is truly the bands best work. 'Patience' is chilling because the crowd almost over powers Rose. 'Used To Love Her' is as ruthless as always. 'Move To The City' is phenomenal. 'Rocket Queen' blows away the studio version as does 'Paradise City.' 'Estranged' could have been better but they all hated each other by then so that's alright.
What really makes this worth owning is Axl's cover of Black Sabbaths 'Its Alright.' Absolutely stunning. Short, sweet, and brilliant. Take a listen and see what I mean because this has to be heard to appreciate.
Live: Era is essential for the true GNR fan. Yeah there may be a better version of 'You Could Be Mine' but who has the time to find it on their own?
Not worth buying 
2008-07-12 - In addition to other comments: the versions of the songs presented here are far from the best ones available. Sometimes the band sounds like they desperately need to sober up/get their act together, or as if they're just bored.
Mastering is bad: when you get crackling during solos no need to reach to check your speakers - it's on the recording.
Contrary to what I was expecting this album sounds completely uninspiring, and it has Civil War missing. Look elsewhere for GNR.
It's /CENSORED!!/ 
2008-07-07 - I just got this, so yeah, I'm a bit behind the times. I was looking to replace my stolen Appetite CD, and saw and ordered this.
The good? It's GNR. It is /so/ GNR.
The bad? They censored GNR!! Rather than put a flipping sticker on it like they used to, most of the f-bombs are blurred out, the word "kill" in Used To Love Her is blurred, the word "cocaine" in You Could Be Mine...
I love these guys and this music, but every time I notice something missing I want to replace it with my own swearing. And blast it, Axl's better at it than I am.
Natural sounding blast of rockin' times
2008-06-13 - Strange feeling I have about this one. Part of me screams that this is a cynical way of grabbing a few more dollars for tunes that have already been paid for. But part of me figures that if some bands can put out live albums after only one proper studio album (yes I'm talking to you Evanescence) then surely after three albums, the Lies collection and the Spaghetti Incident then `the most dangerous band on the planet' deserves to be able to put out a live release.
And what a raft of tunes to choose from. The reasons for this bands mega bucks empire is writ large across the two discs of this collection that is quite impressive if for no other reason than that you feel like it was largely recorded at the same gig. Which apparently isn't the case. So the people who put this together really knew what they were doing. And the tunes themselves speak for themselves. If your a fan like me you'll probably already have all the studio works and it's just a matter of completism. For me it was an easy choice as to whether to buy this or not, listening to stuff from either their early or late periods will have you grinning from ear to ear. Strangely enough in a weird way the band are now considered a `classic' band and accorded a devout following within the hard rock and metal universe. Which is strange indeed if you were there at the time.
Fans of the band can buy this with confidence, as the discs unfold you'll not feel ripped off. Even if like me your not necessarily a fan of the live album format. And with 22 tracks spread over the collection your getting your moneys worth. Not to mention the booklet complete with photos of the band and examples of flyers for their early gigs which adds to the sense of history inherent in this release. As for those who may be new to the harder end of the music spectrum or just new to the band itself, it's a toss up whether you'd be better off getting this or the greatest hits album that consists of studio tracks. While I rate this as a very healthy four stars my heart tells me you should get the studio best of collection in order to hear the tunes as they were originally intended and to hear them the way those around at the time heard them for the first time.
Like a Suicide?
2008-02-02 - A nice live album. Retouched to some extent, so it lacks a true, raw live feel, but all the hits are here, as well as some fan favorites, and it's all played with great energy.
